Indicator for vehicles.



A. G. MATHER. v INDIGATOR. ron vnmcuzs.

' APPLICATION FILED APB..27, 1909. 1,101,205, Patented June 23, 1914.

3 BHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

A. G. MATHER. INDICATOR- FOR TEHIGLES. APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1909.

1,101,205. v Patented June 23,1914.

3 SHEETSfSHEET 2.

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D1L FJ;O L\ I o n 7 I i 7 1 28 6' 3 2 fl 30 47 1 v v I a /0 1/ L; 39 Z Witnesses; Inventor; m 1% W 09507030 aMatker COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm. WASHINGTON D c A. G. MATHER. INDICATOR FOR VEHICLES. 1 1.101.1101; FILED APR. 27, 1909.

Patented June 23, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

COLUMBIA PLANOIJRAPH 60., WASHINGTON, D. c.

ALONZO C. MATHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

INDICATOR FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 27, 1909.

Patented June 23, 1914.

Serial No. 492,494.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALONZO G. MATHER' a citizen of the United States, residing at G icago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicators for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in an indicator for vehicles and my invention particularly relates to an indicator for street cars.

The object of my invention is to provide anrindicator havinga sign board with the names of the intersecting streets of the car line thereon and pointers which move along the sign board at a speed relative to the speed of the car.

A still further object of my invention is to provide means for reversing the directtion of travel of the pointers.

A still further object of my invention is to provide means for readily adjusting the pointers to a position in relation to the names on the sign board corresponding to the position of the car in relation to the streets. V

A further object of my invention is to provide means for varying the speed of the pointers; and a still further object of my invention is to provide a flexible shaft for connecting the indicator with the driving mechanism.

Referring to the drawings in which like references refer to like partsp-Figure 1. is a longitudinal vertical section of a car having my invention embodied therein; Fig. 2. is a transverse vertical section on line 22 Fig. 1, drawn on a larger scale; Fig. 3. is a vertical section on line 3-3 Fig. 1, drawn on a larger scale; Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4 Fig. 3; and, Fig. 5. is a vertical section on line 5-5 Fig.3.

In the drawings 1 represents the car body, 2 the wheels carrying the axles 3 mounted in the frames4 upon which the body is sup ported. V

The indicator consists of the frame 6 which is secured in the upper portion of the car and is placed transversely of the car and near the center of the same, so that the double face sign board may be read from either end of the car. The frame 6 consists of the top 8 and bottom portions 9, the ends 10 and 11 and the sides 12 having hinged panels 13 and 14. A sign board 18 is secured in the central portion of the frame and secured upon said sign board 18 are spring plates 20 under the edges of which are held the ends of the name plates 21. The spring plates 20 are provided upon one edge with incisions 22, which form the 1 plates 20 into a series of small clamps, under which a name plate may be inserted or re moved without disturbing the remaining name plates.

A shaft 25 is mounted in bearings 26 and 27, secured to the ends 10 and 11 of the frame 6. The said shaft 25 is located in the center of the frame and immediately below the sign board 18. The shaft 25 is threaded and engages a nut 27 carrying pointers 28 and 29 projecting in front of either face of the sign board 18. As the shaft 25 is rotated the nut 27 is moved along the length of the sign board 18. The shaft 25 is driven by a flexible shaft 30 which is connected at one end with the shaft of the ratchet wheel 32 mounted in a bearing 33 upon the floor 5 of the car. An arm 35 pivoted in the bearing 36 is provided with a pawl 38 which engages the teeth of the ratchet wheel 32. The other end of said arm 35 is connected with the eccentric rod 39 from the eccentric 40 upon the axle 3. As the axle rotates the eccentric will rotate the ratchet wheel 32 at a slow speed and turn the flexible shaft 25. Between the eccentric rod 39 and the arm 35 an adjustable connection is provided so that the movement of the end of the arm 35 carrying the pawl 38 maybe varied to cause the pawl 38 to engage one or more of the teeth of the ratchet wheel and thus vary the speed of the rotation of the flexible shaft. The eccentric rod 39 extends approximately in a horizontal line with the center of the wheels 2 so that the variation of the distance between the body and the axles, due to the springs, will not affect the movement of the lever 35.

The flexible shaft 30 is incased in a pipe ,41 secured to the side of the car, which pipe protects the shafting and holds it in its proper place. The upper end ofjthe flexible shaft 30 is connected with a shaft 42 carried by a movable bearing 43 pivoted upon a shaft 44, secured in the end of the frame 6. The shaft 42, to which is connected the flexible shaft 30, is provided with a gearwheel 45 which meshes with a second gear wheel 46, also mounted on the movable bearing 43. The said movable bearing 43 is provided with a handle 47 for changing the position of the bearing 43 to bring either of the gear-wheels 45 or 46 into mesh with the gear-wheel 50, secured on the shaft 25. When the movable bearing 45 is in the position shown in full lines Fig. 4, motion will be imparted from the gear-wheel 45, driven by the flexible shaft 30, through the second gear-wheel 46, which drives the gear-wheel 50 on the shaft 25, in the same direction as the flexible shaft. When the movable bearing 43 is in the position shown in dotted lines, the gear-wheel 45 driven by the flexible shaft 30, will be in mesh with the gearwheel 50 on theshaft 25 and drive the shaft 25 in the reverse direction from the flexible shaft 30. The gear-wheel 46 will remain in engagement with the gear-wheel 45 but will run free of the gear-wheel 50 and the shaft 25.

The nut 27 may be adjusted to any position upon the shaft 25 by pulling down the handle 55 secured in the underside of the nut 27 and projects through the slot 15 formed in the bottom 9 of the frame. The

' nut 27 is cut away above the shaft 25 and the lower portion of the nut 27 is threaded to engage the lower half of the shaft 25. The nut is held normally in engagement with the threaded shaft 25 by the action of the springs 57 which act against the heads of the rods 58 carrying rollers 59 which run upon tracks 60 on the bottom of the frame.

00111123151 thi patent may be obtained for By pulling the handle 55 downwardly the springs 57 will contract and the screwthread in the nut 27 will be disengaged from the threaded shaft 25 so that the nut 27 may be slid upon the tracks and the nut 27 adjusted upon the shaft 25 to make the pointers 28 and 29 register properly. The shaft 25 is provided wit-h blank ends 66 so that the nut will be free from the screw-thread ed portion of the shaft and come to rest at the end of the shaft.

The operation of my invention is as follows: At the beginning of the route the nut 27 is set at'one end of the screw-threaded portion of the shaft 25 and the handle 47 is set sothat the nut will travel in the proper direction. As the car travels over the route the name plates 21 are inserted upon the sign board opposite to the pointers as the car reaches the street crossings. By properly setting the handle 47 the pointers will travel back over the names upon the sign board as the car returns over the route. When the car again starts over the route it is only necessary to adjust the nut upon the threaded shaft so that the pointers will indicate the proper street at the beginning of the route. The pointers will then correctly indicate the streets as the car travels over the route.

For short routes the driving mechanism may be adjusted to move the ratchet wheel two teeth at each revolution of the car wheels and the name plates spaced farther apart and for long routes the name plate will have to be spaced close together and then the ratchet wheel should be set to move only one tooth for each revolution of the car wheels.

Having thusv described my invention 1 acters upon each face of said sign board,

said sign board secured in a fixed position in the upper central portionof said car, said sign board extending at right angles to the length of said car, a pointer. located adjacent to each face of said signboard, a

threaded shaft, a nutcarrying said pointers, said nut having partial screw-threads adapted to engage said threaded shaft, a track located adjacent to. said shaft, a roller in said track, a spring connection between said roller and said nut and means for disengaging said nut fromsaid threaded shaft.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a sign board secured in a fixed position, a threaded shaft, a pointer located adjacent to saidsign board, a nut carrying said pointer,said nut having par.- tial screw-threads adapted to engage said threaded shaft, a frame incasing said sign board, tracks in said frame, rollers upon said tracks, spring connections between said rollers and said nut, a'handle extending through an aperture formed in said casing for disengaging said nut from said shaft and for moving said nut along said sign board. 7 I In testimony. whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses. ALONZO C.

. Witnesses:

' WM. L. RODNEY,

- M. R. OLEEIQAND. V

five cents each, by'addressing the Commissioner '0! Patents Washington, D. 0.

MATHER. 

